In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
I congratulate you dear youth and dear children of this nation on your entrance into the arena of safeguarding the values of the Islamic Revolution.
A military academy is simultaneously a center for acquiring knowledge, for jihad, and for training men who have steely determination and indomitable will. When knowledge, jihad, faith, and strong determination come together, they create humans which fill the world with hope.
The main problem in the modern material world was that knowledge was used to create corruption, extremism, and transgression. Knowledge is a divine blessing. It is such ingratitude for a generation, a nation, or a group of people to use knowledge during a particular era for such purposes as oppression, extremism, transgression, and destroying human values. And this is something which has happened in the world during the past, particularly in the past two or three centuries.
Some nations acquired knowledge, and this is a natural phenomenon. Throughout history, different nations have become scientifically dominant in particular eras. Sometimes, eastern parts of the world were the center of knowledge in the world. Other times, it was the western countries which became dominant. When these countries acquired knowledge, they used it to colonize and oppress other nations. Many a country and nation - in both eastern and western parts of the world, such as in Asia and Africa - was oppressed as a result of the knowledge that was acquired by western countries. Millions of people were held captive. The black people who live in the U.S. today are the children of the poor Africans who were held captive by western colonialists. They captured these people in their homes or farms like animals, displaced them, and put them to hard work.
This happened in different parts of the world in the Indian subcontinent, in the farthest end of Asia during the dark periods of history. With the knowledge they had acquired - which was a divine blessing - they oppressed people and ruined their lives for ages.
Later, they built atomic bombs as a result of the knowledge they had acquired. Every piece of knowledge is like a stair in a staircase. You go up one step and you get the chance to reach upper steps as a result. This is something natural. By going up the staircase of knowledge, atomic bombs and chemical weapons were built. Many generations were wiped out. Many people were bereaved by the loss of their dear ones. And the world turned into what you see in the world's geopolitics today: The world was divided into two groups - the oppressor and the oppressed. And there is a great gap in between. Such was the world's geopolitical and geocultural status during the latter years of these dark centuries.
My dears, the great Islamic Revolution of the Iranian nation was a huge uprising against this state of affairs. Our Revolution was the outcry of Islam, monotheism, justice, and human dignity in a world that is full of oppression - a world in which God's gifts and blessings are used to repress humans. The Revolution was a protest against this state of affairs.
Those who advise the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic to revert to the global system are those who are dissatisfied with such a great movement by a nation - a movement which took place at a critical time. They tell us to revert to the global system. This means that we should surrender to such an unfair system. They want us to be a member of this unfair system. This is what they want from the Iranian nation.
The Iranian nation has rejected this unwise and illogical request during the past thirty years by relying on its power, self-confidence, and strong faith in its religious origin. The purpose of all the pressure that was exerted on the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic during the past thirty years was to undermine the high position and spiritual foundation of the Revolution. Of course, it is obvious that they could not achieve their goal and will not be able to do so in the future either. "They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, though the disbelievers may be averse." [The Holy Quran, 61:8] The light of Allah, monotheism, justice, and belief in God cannot be put out by anyone when it starts to shine in the hearts of a nation or group of people.
Dear youth, you are the guardians of this lofty truth. You should be proud of this position. The Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution was founded by a group of pure-hearted youth during the early stages of the Islamic Revolution. You dear youth were not present during those days. The youth who were present during the Revolution were approximately your age - 18 to 20 year old youth. They founded the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution with their steely determination, indomitable will, and strong faith. They actively carried out jihad from the very first days.
The enemies started the imposed war in order to smother the Revolution, but this war only helped promote the Revolution and infused it with more revolutionary power and enthusiasm. Our dear youth regained their glory in the battlefields. Their talents started to flourish. The war turned them into great indefatigable commanders at a young age. It helped them to become resourceful and wise men. The Islamic Republic will always be indebted to these youth and their actions.
You are the followers of those dear youth. You are the followers of those pioneers. "All days are Ashura and all places are Karbala." It means the realities of human life and creation do not change with the passage of time. In each historical era, human beings have to take on a particular role and if they fulfill the role at the right time and in an appropriate manner, everything will be satisfactory. Nations will grow, and human values will be promoted.
That was what our revolutionary youth did. They fulfilled their role. As a result, the Iranian nation picked up where they left off and even after the passage of several decades, our nation keeps rising to various peaks of progress, following Imam Khomeini (r.a.) as a beacon of guidance. Think about the war that was imposed on us, especially the early years. Think about the lack of weapons, financial resources, and experience that our youth in Basij and the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution used to suffer from at that time and compare the situation with the current progress of the country in scientific and research arenas.
By studying at this military academy, you strengthen your intellectual abilities and determination. Here you prepare yourselves psychologically and tread the path of glory. That is what this academy is for. You must be proud of being a student of this academy and graduating from it. You must think of the opportunity as a divine blessing. You must appreciate it and move forward.
Your country needs faithful youth. Thankfully, in spite of the enemies' constant efforts - which are for the most part focused on the youth - our youth are inclined towards God and divine guidance. To the enemies' disappointment, our youth are faithful. Today the faithful youth of the country are not worse, if not better, than the young generation at the beginning of the Revolution - 25 to 30 years ago. The great experience we gained during the imposed war - which was an opportunity for utilization of talents - would work miracles with all prominent and talented generations.
Today you have a role to play in another arena. You have a role to play in science, scientific progress, self-education, construction of the country, and protection of the nation. The survival of the arrogant powers of the world - who are not only hostile to the Iranian nation, but also to other nations, humanity, and virtue - depends on intimidation. They try to solve their problems by force. They impose their will on nations and try to scare them out of their way. You must not fear them. Your spiritual power is more awe-inspiring to them than their material power is to nations.
When you rely on your faith, preparedness, knowledge, acumen, management skills, and calculations, and when you respect the values that emerged out of the heart of the Revolution and safeguard your faith through these values, you become very awe-inspiring among other nations and look more powerful to other nations than the superpowers. Today the enemies know that the Iranian nation, youth, men, government officials, and statesmen, who are proud of their values, cannot be intimidated in any way. Everybody knows this.
As the honorable and glorious guardians of this nation, you must strengthen this belief in the hearts of the enemies. Strengthen your faith. Serving God and being humble before Him protect man against humility before all bullying oppressors. When a person feels the fear of God and His glory, his heart will be filled with such power that even great superpowers will be forced to surrender. Increase your faith in God on a daily basis.
Dear Allah, please protect our Armed Forces, Army, police forces, Basij, and the faithful soldiers of Islam. O God, bestow Your blessings on them.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings